Shattered
by desert-bluffs-and-me
Summary: Sometimes the world works for you. Sometimes it tries to pull you apart and sometimes, you break, into many little pieces and forget the parts that are too painful to remember. This is the story of twins finding out how true that can be.
1. Prologue

She hardly made a sound.

There was an occasional grunt of effort, followed by rapid breathing. There had been no time to go to a hospital and she felt it wasn't their business anyway. Abby stood by her mother. Her young face was drawn tight in an expression that was somewhat hard to read, but seemed to say _'I'm not qualified to do this and I'd rather be anywhere but here right now.'_

"He's coming." They were the first words she'd spoken in a while. Not since the start of the labour. Not since the start of the week. Abby wasn't even sure her mother had spoken to her at all this past month. She did that sometimes. The grunting became louder, became straining as she pushed. A string of muttered curses in modern Hebrew and Yiddish issued out and Abby pretended not to hear.

Abby was always told how strong she was, physically and mentally. Now she had to be extra strong. Her new sibling was coming into the world and Abby felt sorry for him. There wasn't much to come to here. She'd just have to make sure that she filled in the gaps that would be left, even though nobody had ever been there to do that for Abby herself. She didn't want to become a young mother, but she was already a young carer and frankly, had no choice. Abby started to resent her mother a little in this moment.

The child did not cry when he was born. He was warm, but pale. Abby washed him delicately in the metal tub of warm water she'd fetched, hands shaking, eyes full of tears as her body expressed emotions she wasn't even ready to deal with yet let alone put a name too. She wrapped the small body up in a towel. Then, the baby opened his eyes, and they were milky white and beautiful. Abby blinked. The baby blinked and Abby smiled. He had pupils and pale blue-pink eyes. Of course he did. Of course. She kissed his head, already full of the palest curls. Abby was still shaking and quickly attempted to pass the baby to his mother.

"No, wait...there's...another..."

Abby stared in confusion. She'd gotten her mother to go to the hospital once and only once and they hadn't mentioned anything about twins. Had it been too early? Abby didn't know what to do with the infant who gazed at her with such cute befuddlement. A baby who had nothing yet to say, not even a cry to give out. Were they supposed to be this quiet? She had no choice but to leave the room. Adrenaline kept her going as she placed her baby brother down into the single crib they had, a crib that had once belonged to her. She dragged it, bit by bit, from the next room.

She had not reached the bedroom yet when there was the sound of liquid spilling and healthy shrill crying. The unforeseen twin had been born.

Abby pulled harder and got the crib into the room. Her mother was holding the second infant and Abby held her nose. The stench was terrible, she'd never seen nor smelled so much blood. The baby wriggled and thrashed, as though it hurt to be held. "Take him. Wash him."

"Mama, you're bleeding. I should call a doctor."

"No, take care of him first." Her words were slurring as she laid back against the pillows of her bed, exhausted beyond measure. Abby did as she was told, the child settling for her in a way that he simply had not for his mother.

"Dark eyes...how are you supposed to pass as twins looking like that?" Abby joked, using humour to cover up her fear and anxiety as many humans did. The child smiled. Abby cried again.

The water was a deep red when he was finally clean. Abby wrapped him up and placed him beside his brother. She watched only for a moment, only long enough to see them reach out for each other. Then her mothers croaking voice snapped the child back to reality. "Abby..."

"Right, sorry." Anxiety climbing once again, Abby was begrudged to leave the infants alone in the corridor as she searched for the one phone in the house. Her mother kept moving it, Abby wasn't sure why. She dialled the emergency number with fingers that felt suddenly very cold. She became painfully aware of her bare feet, her beating heart and each strand of her hair that brushed against her. As she waited, she noticed that she still had her mothers blood dying the cuff of her night gown. Abby swallowed. "I need an ambulance. My mom had babies, she's bleeding a lot."

 _"Ok sweetie, where do you live?"_

Abby gave the address.

 _"Can you stay on the phone with me?"_

"...'es."

 _"Good girl. What's your name?"_

"Abby."

 _"Hi Abby, I'm Manpreet. Are you and mommy alone with the babies, Abby?"_

" 'es."

 _"Where's daddy?"_

"Don't have one."

 _"Oh, other mommy?"_

"No. Nobody."

 _"Ok. Where are the babies right now?"_

"In a cot." Abby knew she had more information to give, but her brain seemed to need to be asked, to have permission to talk, so that her tongue would keep moving and mechanically push the words out.

 _"Wrapped up?"_

"Uhhuh..."

 _"Good. You're being very brave. Is mommy still awake?"_

"I think so."

 _"Ok Abby, I need you to take the phone to mommy so I can help her. Can you do that?"_

Abby started to move.

 _"Abby, you still there sweetheart?"_

"Yeah, sorry...I'm going to my mom." She handed the phone over to her weak mother like it was a live wire, or a particularly unhappy snake. Feeling cowardly, she left the room to sit beside the crib. She could see the infants through the bars, cuddled, cosy, sleeping. She wished she was asleep. Two babies. Two babies to take care of when their mother simply wasn't well enough to do so. Two little boys to help grow up, feed, clothe, get to school. She knew that their mother would be having bad days more often than not, it was the way she'd grown up after all. Abby wished their dad was still around like he had been for a while when she was younger. She wished they had more family here in Night Vale. She wished...that wishing could change the present and the looming future.

One year shy of being a teenager, Abby Palmer had become a de facto mother of two.


	2. Click

_click,click,click..._

Back and forth, back and forth. One of the legs of the wooden horse had broken off quite a while ago, but it still made a satisfying sound as it crossed back and forth across the table. Kevin rested one of his elbows on the table and used it to prop up his head, walking the toy back and forth as he waited for his brother to get home. There was a tape playing in the background, looping over and over " _Happy birthday to you...happy birthday to you...happy birthday to you..._ " He hadn't turned that on. It was probably the Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lived in Their Home. After a while, the repetitiveness started to irk him.

Kevin coughed hard and deep, feeling his throat tickle and then burn. Getting up, he walked over to the cassette player and pressed the stop button. This made another, harsher _click_. A hand touched his shoulder and Kevin jumped, turning around with eyes wide and pulse fluttering. "Mom...you scared me."

She rose a finger to her lips. "Shh." Then she stared. Kevin looked away. He had gotten good at just looking away. He watched her slipper clad feet turn to shuffle away.

"Mom..." Kevin spoke up as loudly as he dared. "Um, I was wondering if maybe, I could start going to real school like Cecil, ya know, go outside and stuff-"

He would have rambled further, but his mother cut him off. She didn't even turn to face him as she spoke. "You know you can't. If anyone saw that there are two of you, they'd kill you both."

Kevin didn't reply. He knew it was pointless to argue. He'd tried every version of arguing from throwing a tantrum, to holding his breath until he passed out, to speaking logically about how it wasn't fair. Cecil had been born first, so he got to go out and do things in the real world. That was 'fair' in this house. His mother had left the room by now and Kevin sat down, back pressed against the table he'd been playing on. He hugged his knees and frowned, trying to either cry or not cry, he wasn't sure which. "It's so stupid, so so stupid, I could at least try, maybe it would be fine..." he muttered.

Lately, being alone in the house had become harder and harder to handle. Oh sure, there was the Faceless Old Woman and his mother but neither of them made very good company. Sometimes he glimpsed the world through the door as Cecil left and came back. Sometimes Cecil lingered just to let it happen. Their mother was always there though, watching, ready to grab Kevin back should he want to step outside or get too close to the open door. It scared Kevin how fast she could be.

Kevin rubbed at his eyes. It wasn't that great outside anyway. Cecil always said that the sun hurt him if he didn't practically paint himself in sun cream every morning. Kevin didn't want anything else to hurt. His whole body already felt weak and sick all of the time. It took a great amount of effort to get himself back up, both physically and mentally.

He headed for the stairs and climbed them slowly, precisely, calculating each step and the effort it would cost him. His stomach growled and reminded him that some of that weakness was because he hadn't eaten all day. Despite his planning, Kevin's head still swam when he reached the top. He closed most of his eyes and waited. In those moments he saw the world through a fog, a haze that contained shadows of people and things that did not exist in this current time and place and would probably never come forward and make themselves fully known. Then the spinning stopped and the sensory input from his main eyes blocked out the fog.

Kevin headed for his bedroom and sat down with the books and worksheets that Cecil kept bringing home for him. Studying was at least something to do, and Kevin had been too stubborn and jealous to not learn how to read. He wanted to be able to do everything that Cecil did, even if he were the weaker twin. The twin with the least experiences. The twin nobody even knew was alive. He was lucky that he'd always been a careful child and never needed serious medical assistance, because he probably didn't even exist to the government, never mind the Night Vale community.

Now, a third kind of _click_. The _click_ of a key turning in a lock. Then a fourth kind of _click_ , the sound of the handle being turned and releasing the door from it's frame. Then Cecil's footsteps as he came in. Kevin stormed from the room, or, he moved faster than usual, which wasn't very fast as he didn't have the energy, but was filled with enthusiasm all the same. He got down in time to see Cecil shoving his kippah into his school bag. Kevin wrapped his arms around his brother from behind and pressed his face into Cecil's shoulder. "You're back."

"Of course I am. I'm always back at this time." Cecil replied, dropping his bag carelessly. It gave an offended muffled thump and dramatically tossed itself over at such neglect. The kippah spilled back out.

"Time is weird." Kevin replied, which said a lot.

"Superweird." Cecil said, grinning, which also said a lot.

Cecil wriggled a little and Kevin loosened up so his brother could turn, hug him, and kiss his face in greeting. "Let me go, ok?" Kevin obeyed. He noticed a second, much more well cared for bag sitting on the kitchen counter.

"Hey, are those groceries?" Kevin hovered over them, his stomach giving another complaint.

"Yeah. Abby's been sending me money, so I picked them up on the way back from the station." Cecil said, going over to start unpacking. It was mostly tins, the freezer hadn't been working for a while and neither boy was sure who to call or how to pay such a person. They weren't even sure how they hadn't been kicked out of the house yet. Kevin coughed once more as he leaned back against the counter and watched Cecil both unpack and start opening tins to make a quick meal.

"Man, you're always sick." He said, only his extra eye concentrating on Kevin at all.

"Yeah but what're we gonna do about it?" Kevin shrugged. "Watch what you're doing."

Blind as his name, Cecil did as he was told, splitting the clouded vision of his main eyes with the clear vision from the extra eye gave him a wicked headache after too long any way. "Did you eat anything else today?" It had been a long day, Cecil had gone straight from school to his intern job without so much as dropping in. He could have, but never wanted to.

Kevin barked a laugh that hurt his throat and brought up more coughs. "Eat what?" he wheezed, voice sounding rough as he tried to speak and cough at the same time.

"Good point. Just thought I'd ask, it's what people do, Kevin." There was no malice in the tone, but there was an eye roll. "I had such a boring day today, honestly, I think I feel asleep at one point so I'm glad I was sat at the back. I picked up some stuff for you though, we can go through it later. Maybe much later, I'm pretty tired, I had to run most of the way home because I was being followed by an unmarked car. Like maybe it was just the secret police, but it didn't look like it, and Leonard Burton from the radio said that if you see a car like that then..."

Kevin listened as Cecil rambled on and on. It was what Cecil did. Kevin liked to listen to Cecil talk. Sometimes Kevin would sit and talk to himself, trying to speak in a way that sounded nice, in hopes that one day he'd have interesting things to say to Cecil and that Cecil would enjoy listening to him. He could only do that on days when their mother was not feeling noise sensitive though. He listened, and didn't hear her moving around, maybe she was sleeping or was feeling better from earlier.

"I wish I could see the world like you do, Ceec." Kevin finally cut his brother off. Cecil would probably just keep going if he wasn't interrupted.

"I wish you could too but you know why you can't." Cecil frowned. They were having this conversation more and more these days and it bothered him. "Bad things will happen if you do. I don't want you to get hurt."

"It's not fair."

"It's not, but I don't know what you want me to say, Kev." Cecil sighed and watched the bubbling pans as the pasta softened. Half of this watching was good sense, the other not wanting to see the sad look on Kevin's face that always looked so much more gaunt and unhealthy than Cecil's own. Privately, Cecil had begun to think of himself as the good looking twin and realise the luck and privilege he had. The realisation was nameless and almost prideful, though he held absolutely no ill will towards his brother. He did not have the selflessness to even imagine that he would swap places with Kevin for the sake of it being 'fair'. He had friends, he went to school and to scouts and interned at the local radio station. Not even his own brother could take that from him.

Sometimes the pity he felt for Kevin turned into something close to anger.

 _"Why did you do that? You're so stupid! Look at your hands!" Cecil had said the day he'd returned to find Kevin sobbing and bleeding on the floor. "Why do you keep doing shit like this? First the door, now the windows, you're going to really hurt yourself." He'd grumbled, taking care of Kevin's fingers with more roughness than was needed._ _Kevin had flung himself at the boarded up windows and tried to pry them away, to just get a glimpse of the outside. The effort alone brought on another coughing fit, one that left him feeling weak and shivery on the floor but also cut up his hands and split a couple of nails._

 _Kevin had sniffled, and then cried, and Cecil had held him and muttered an apology. He couldn't understand things from Kevin's perspective, but he understood what to do when tears came._

Now, he just tried to avoid engaging in conversation that led that way and bitterly wished that they could go back to when Kevin didn't complain as much and just accepted the way things had to be. Back to the days when Abby had been around, before she'd left home as early as possible to go to college and get away from it all.

After the meal, which was unflavoured and uneventful as always, but at least coated their bellies in something, the twins retreated to a night of studying. It was their routine. Kevin would keep himself busy in the day (often sleeping throughout most of it) and Cecil would come home and teach him to the best of his ability, before they went to bed. Some days there would be food, and some days there would not. Some days Cecil would cross his fingers as he stood outside, the late sun setting and turning hot days into freezing desert nights. He would cross his fingers and hope that everything inside would be all right. That Kevin wouldn't be hurt, that their mother would be calm or even - this was truly hoping! - lucid. When she was well, things were a lot better. She would hug them, and sing and dance and cook and even tuck them into bed. Those days were getting fewer and fewer. Cecil wished he knew how to help her. Kevin didn't realise there was any help to be given, he assumed all mothers were this way.

"It's Saturday tomorrow, right?" Kevin asked as they held each other. The bed was a double, but nights were long and filled with sounds and lights that still installed fear in them. Their mother had once told them that when they grew up, they'd learn to ignore such things. For now, they slept holding each other, or at least started that way.

"Yeah." Cecil mumbled, half asleep.

"I love you, Ceec." Kevin smiled and closed all of his eyes.

"Love you too." Cecil yawned. "Goodnight."

From their bodies came a faint glow, both metaphorically and literally. Metaphorically it was the warm feeling of fraternal love, deeper perhaps because they had once shared a womb and now shared so many of the same features. Literally, because the markings that roamed their body in shades of yellow and purple had finally settled down and were giving off a faint light in response to that connection.

Outside, an unmarked van had pulled up. There was a man and a woman in the front seat, both with their heads turned towards the house. Neither spoke for both knew what was to happen. But not tonight, not right now. This wasn't technically going to be a kidnapping after all. Technically. The woman rolled down the window and lifted a camera to her face.

 _click._


	3. Transported

It was still early when the knock on the door came. In the time that followed after, when Cecil looked back, he would regret that he hadn't known better than to open the door to strange knocking. At _that_ time however, both boys had just finished getting ready for the day. Getting ready consisted only of cleaning and dressing. Kevin would usually wake first and nudge Cecil awake to keep him company. Cecil was a light sleeper, a condition that would only worsen as he got older. The older twin would wake and they'd cuddle for twenty minutes or so before getting up. It was a good routine. It was a routine they didn't think about too much, otherwise they'd realise how mundane it all was. Especially so for Kevin, whose life never really changed or had any significant events in it. Not until that knock on the door.

Cecil was the one who answered as Kevin sat at the top of the stairs. He was out of sight here to anyone stood at the doorway, but could still listen in. Cecil stared at the two people in the white coats and waited for them to introduce themselves. It became apparent after a good minute or so that this wasn't to be the case. The two people just stared and Cecil felt suddenly very self conscious of his third eye, attempting to cover it with his thick curly hair. "Can I help you?"

"Are you Cecil Palmer?" One spoke, the female.

"Uh..."

"And your brother is Kevin Palmer?" The male this time.

"I don't uh-"

"We've been ordered by your mother to come and pick you up and transport you to our secure mental rehabilitation facility and specialist hospital." The man again, which made the woman look annoyed as she'd clearly thought it was her turn to speak.

Regardless, both of them pushed Cecil back in unison, using the unfair advantage of being two fully grown adults to push the young teen easily aside. Kevin peered down and caught the eyes of one of the invaders. A flutter of panic hit his chest and he scrambled away to hide in his bedroom.

"Hey, you can't just come in here! Mom would...mom would never...mom!" Cecil turned and hurried into the house, calling for his mother. Why did they need to go to such a place?

"Neither will get fair. Do you want to take the one upstairs, Freya?" The man asked.

Freya sighed. "I guess so and for the love of a Smiling God, Jackson, stop using my first name when we're at work. It's unprofessional. Also don't speak over me again."

Jackson rose his hands in defence. "Ok ok..." He took a small box from his coat pocket and opened it up. Inside was an already prepared needle, a specially made tranquilliser. All he'd have to do is remove the protective cap. He half hoped that would happen whilst fighting with Cecil. He could imagine himself pinning the squirming boy down and having to tear it off with his teeth and Cecil mutated into some alien being. Alas, real life was hardly every that exciting, even if Cecil might still reveal parts of himself that weren't conventionally human.

Freya left hers be and quietly went upstairs. She checked each room quietly, but thoroughly. Each time she opened a door, she did so with a gentle push, so that if Kevin were inside it wouldn't startle him. Or maybe it would creep him out to see the handle slowly turning. Freya hoped for the latter, and continued this approach. It was disconcerting, Freya felt like she was opening so many doors. Too many. More than could possibly exist in a house of this size. It was starting to make her lose her patience when she opened the door to the twins bedroom and found a surprised and scared looking Kevin curled up on his bed. This wasn't the first time they'd had visitors after all, Kevin was used to waiting for them to be gone. He hadn't expected someone to come actually looking for him.

"Do it gently." Kevin spoke just above a whisper.

"Do what gently?" Freya asked, wondering if he'd known her intentions all along. Information had been gathered which suggested that Cecil had telepathic powers, so it seemed likely that his twin could too. She advanced into the room very slowly, but was now convinced that Kevin could come easily. Unlike Jackson, she didn't want this to turn into a fight. Not that she couldn't have taken such a small, frail and sickly looking child. She was a big girl, and Kevin was smaller than the average fifteen year old.

"Kill me. You're going to kill me because Cecil and I look the same, and that's not right. My mom already told me all about it." Kevin was weeping now. The third eye was dry, but heavy lidded and his whole body was shaking which soon brought on coughing.

Freya tried hard not to laugh. Kevin's coughing fit helped with that, as it made her concerned about how long he was going to live if he were serious sick and could she catch what he had? She hoped not. She didn't want any sick days off from work. That wasn't productive. "You're twins. I've seen twins before. Twins are fairly common nowadays." She sat down on the bed, the furthest she could from Kevin to not spook him. She felt like she was dealing with a neglected animal here.

"Twins..." Kevin had heard that term before, in a book perhaps, but it confused him that they were common. They were...known, people knew there could be two people that looked the same. Why had he been locked up this long if it would have always been fine? He was too scared of this strange woman to channel his new confusion into anger towards his mother for the lie she'd told.

"Kevin...my name is Freya. I'm here to help you. We've been alerted to the fact that you and your brother need mental and physical rehabilitation. We've been looking into your brother for a while and managed to gather a lot of information about his needs and then your existence and your needs. You don't need to live like this any more, Strexcorp will help you." Freya explained.

"Strexcorp?"

"Yes. That's the company that purposefully set up the facility, both here and in your neighbouring town. It's done great work, and your mother gave us permission to give you that help too. Will you let me help you, Kevin?" Freya gave him a smile and he trusted her. He took the hand she was holding out, his skin stark and pale against her darker tones. "Good boy, let's pack you some things and get ready."

* * *

Cecil was not having such a good time. He couldn't find his mother. That wasn't unusual (she often left for a few days, or just hid very very well) but it was inconvenient. He turned to find Jackson coming towards him with a smile (was that a smile?) that suggested he saw Cecil as a piece of meat. "Cecil Palmer, we've been ordered to escort you to our secure facility. You are mentally and physically unwell and therefore a danger to yourself and other people. If you don't come willingly, then I'll have to make you."

"Don't you come near me." Cecil hissed. It was a literal hiss. There were times in his life where Cecil was able to manifest large appendages from his body and use them as defence but it seemed the rest of his body just wasn't as frightened as his conscious mind and he'd yet to master manifesting them at will. Instead he grabbed whatever he could from the kitchen counter (an empty fruit bowl) and threw it as hard as he could at Jackson. There was no trust here and no real thought. He was just a scared teenager, backed against a wall, too far from any doors that would lead him outside.

"Looks like I have to make you." Jackson replied, altogether too happy about this. Cecil could see it in his eyes. He opened the nearest drawer, begging for it to be knives. It wasn't, it was empty. Cecil's eyes widened and Jackson started to move. This would all be over soon after all, maybe the kid wasn't as paranormal as he seemed. Cecil, panicking, wrenched the drawer from it's socket and threw that inside. It caught his attacker off guard. Jackson moved at the last second, feeling the sting as the corner of the drawer sliced into his cheek. Jackson grinned.

* * *

Kevin packed what little clothing he had, the toy horse he adored and some of the study materials that were new. Freya placed her hand tenderly on the boys shoulder and let him rest against her. Kevin felt his trust rise, he liked being held like this, he liked feeling like someone cared. It dug a deep pit of craving into his being, drawing attention to a piece of him that had always been missing. Freya had a smell that suggested cleanliness, with chemicals designed to get every last spot. It was different and oddly comforting. Their mother smelled only of sickness, as did Kevin himself. His nose had long since stopped picking up on that smell.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Kevin heard shouting coming from the direction of the kitchen and turned his head that way.

"Don't worry about it." Freya said. "Let's just get you in the car." The kitchen window faced out towards the pavement and they passed it on the way to what Freya called a car, but was most definitely a van. Kevin didn't look back at the house, he was taking in the world greedily. He wished had eight more eyes at all angles, so he could take in more of it. He'd felt sun on his skin, heard the birds and the whirling of helicopters so clearly. He could hear other people, smell desert flowers and feel the wind against his skin. He was outside. He was really outside and no one was trying to hurt him. Even sitting in the back of the van, looking out of the small window, was something so entirely new and enriching that Kevin felt a pleasant tingling all over his boy.

Cecil heard the sound of the door and a sick wave of fear washed over him. Kevin had been taken. His guard down, he was pushed against the wall and felt the sting of the needle before he could do more than give a basic cry of alarm.

"There you go, you little demon." Jackson huffed, a little mad that Cecil had made him bleed even if he had wanted a fight. Jackson caught Cecil as he fell into an unconscious slump and carried him rather unceremoniously to the van.

Kevin climbed into the back of the van of his own free will, a little saddened to be shut away again. There was a bench fitted against both sides of the van and from the back of them hung several thick straps with heavy looking buckles, criss-crossed to create harnesses. Freya helped Kevin with only one of them, a basic enough strap to be used as a seatbelt. He wasn't going to be any trouble. Cecil however, was the opposite. Limp as could be, Jackson had to prop him up like an uncooperative ventriloquists dummy and attach the full harness to keep him safely in place. "Cecil? Cecil? What's wrong with him?" Kevin reached out to take his brothers hand.

"He'll be fine. He just got really sleepy all of a sudden." Jackson grinned and left them be, locking the back doors of the van behind them. Kevin felt an instant wave of dislike for that man. He didn't seem anything like Freya at all. The vehicle started up and moved off. Kevin clung to Cecil's hand and hoped he was truly okay. Despite the fact that he'd always wished to be free of the house, it was scary to think he was going some place entirely new. Some place he'd not only never heard of, but wasn't even entirely sure of the function of. But it was some place different and that excitement fair outweighed even the fear of what was going to happen once they got there.

Kevin didn't believe that Cecil had simply gone to sleep. When their skin touched, he felt that something was wrong with his twin. A irregularity in the way he was breathing, and the soft sensation of something invasive moving through Cecil's veins. Kevin whimpered and tried to wake his brother for a good long while, pushing and prodding the limp body as it sat, strapped, in the back of this van. He started to regret how easily he'd agreed with all of this.

"Cecil..." Kevin whimpered. He couldn't hear what was going on up front, they were completely blocked off. Kevin's stomach started to churn unpleasantly. His case was beside him, but even he was strapped so firmly that he couldn't reach it. There was nothing he could do for comfort except hold Cecil's hand. Time meant nothing in the back of this cold white van. Kevin felt his eyes starting to close and got as comfortable a she could, half leaning on Cecil. If he slept, he wasn't aware of it, and didn't dream. Instead, it seemed as though one moment he had closed his eyes and then next someone was opening the back of the van. Time had passed, the sun was lower than he remember. Of course, he couldn't be sure, he hadn't seen a lot of the sun and had learnt of it's movements secondhand from books.

It wasn't Freya or Jackson that stood there. Their job was over. Kevin caught sight of them heading away and felt betrayed. Not by Jackson, whom he had so instantly disliked but Kevin had felt that Freya liked him in some way. Yet she didn't look back. His stomach tightened again.

Kevin did not like the new people. There was something...odd about them. They were smiling, but not speaking. Were those smiles? They were studying Kevin and Cecil, of that the boy could be sure. Studying them with eyes that looked dry and dead, as dead as the smiles, as dry as the strange inhuman quality of the skin. It seemed like a stand off that lasted forward, long enough for Kevin to wonder if they were fake. If he reached out, would he be able to push these doll looking creatures over? Then they were moving, and taking off the straps that held Cecil down. Kevin was easier to get out, but he was still grabbed tightly around both wrists. The orderly pulled his arms upwards, elbows pointed, and held them tight by Kevin's own sides. It was a strange position that nonetheless moved him. Cecil was still out cold and was carried like a baby.

The building that loomed over them was a mishmash of architectural design. It was a place that had started out as one thing and been added to roughly every decade, expanding it until there was no more land to expand onto. At least none that belonged to the people who owned the facility itself. Kevin could see bars on every window, though at least bars let in light. For a moment he considered trying to break free and run for it, to stop himself going from one prison like place to another. He couldn't leave Cecil though and he simply wasn't strong enough to try and break this unearthly grasp.

As they were led inside, Kevin's mood perked up a little. There was cheerful music floating down from speakers, and warm tones covering every surface. The receptionist smiled at that. "Ah, we've been expecting you. It's room 18, orderlies."

The Orderlies said nothing and marched on through a double door flanked by two large potted plants, pausing only to use a key fob to open the doors. The music seemed to abruptly stop on this side of the doors. The warm colours were replaced by a neutral and depressing grey. Doors lined one side and windows the other. Kevin felt suddenly cold. This wasn't a place meant to be seen by visitors, he thought, his third eye picking up something that sent Kevin into nausea. It couldn't pinpoint what it was feeling and neither could Kevin. He just knew that he'd left behind a pleasant facade and from now on, this cold functional place would be his new reality.


	4. The first crack

The orderlies laid Cecil on one of the two beds in room they eventually stopped at and left. Kevin heard a lock turn in the door and stood there numbly for a few seconds. He looked at that door and it's tiny barred window. He stared at it hard and tried to will himself awake. Surely this was some dream, some nightmare. This place was new, for sure, but once again he was locked up. This time he had even less space than before and was beginning to feel punished for being ungrateful.

Sunlight still came in through the high window. More bars here too. Kevin made his legs move and went to look out, hoping that at least seeing the outside would be a marked improvement on his previous level of existence. In a way it was, because all of what was outside was new and interesting to him. The flash of greenery quickly ended in another wall of the facility though. That side had even smaller windows and they all looked dark. Kevin sat down beside Cecil rather than on the other bed meant for him, then laid with him and stared at the cracked and dirty ceiling. It must be an old place, he thought. Either that or they just don't care enough about the people here to clean the place or get rid of the mould clearly growing where the walls and ceiling had become too damp and dark without care.

Kevin tried to will himself to sleep. Not because he was sleepy, but because sleep passed time. He'd never been more wide awake in his life and he'd become good in his 15 years of life at forcing sleep on himself. There was precious little else to look at in this place. A small set of drawers each, probably empty. That was about it. The place may have been large, but it seemed they'd run out of space ages ago and were putting two people in a one person room to make up for that.

It would be hours later by the time that Cecil actually came to. When he sat, his head span, and Kevin looked up from the books he'd been reading. His suitcase lay open on the bed, and he'd propped himself up in a position that had allowed him to watch his brother as well.

"Where the Hell are we?" Cecil groaned, his heart racing when he realised that the window had bars and that they were, in general, not home. They'd been told they were going to a hospital, but this looked a lot like a prison cell.

"At the hospital." Kevin replied, solidifying the idea that this was supposed to be a hospital. He put his things away hastily and came over to hug his brother. Cecil pushed him off. He didn't feel like being touched right now. Instead he got up and tried the door. Locked, of course. He pounded on it with both fists.

"Hello! Hello? Anybody? Hey! Hello! I need someone over here!" He called. Kevin watched Cecil pace and get flustered.

"He knocked me out, put some kind of needle in me. What a creep, that was creepy right?" Cecil groaned.

" _Supercreepy_."

"Right. They can't just knock us out and drag us off someplace when we didn't even commit a crime punishable by being drugged and dragged off someplace." Cecil, exhausted, sat down beside his brother.

"Oh, I didn't get drugged. I didn't know they drugged you." Kevin said. He'd had an inkling of course, but it still came as somewhat of a surprise.

"Wait, they didn't drug you? But then..." Cecil frowned.

"Yeah, Freya was really nice so I just went with her." Kevin started to feel a little guilty and warm around the ears.

"You...you just...you just walked out with some stranger that was trying to put us in a hole like this?" Cecil's mouth was a little agape, then drawn tight in befuddled anger. "You just went along with it! I don't believe it! What kind of idiot are you?"

"That's not nice." Kevin whimpered, drawing away from his brothers anger.

"Screw 'nice'! Look at where we are Kevin. We've been locked up by people who claimed our mom wanted to send us away. She wouldn't do that, she didn't even want people to know about you. You just let yourself be kidnapped." Cecil was back up again, restless and with a lot more energy than his brother. He paced, trying not to take a swing at Kevin although he almost wished to.

Kevin, who had curled up into as tight a ball as possible, unfurled a little. "Yeah about that, Freya said that it's common for people to look the same. She said that it's called twins and it wouldn't freak people out."

Cecil stopped pacing and the look of guilt was transferred from Kevin to Cecil, who avoided eye contact with his brother and bit his lip.

"You _knew._ " The words came out like treacle from Kevin's mouth. He was completely unfurled now, hands balled into fists. "You knew I didn't have to stay inside, didn't you?"

"Don't work yourself up it's bad for your-"

" _How long, Cecil?_ How long did you know?" Kevin was shaking now and he could feel his body starting to ache and weaken from the effort. Sudden adrenaline kept him going. Cecil watched Kevin get up and stand there, barely stable, so much skinnier and weaker looking than himself.

"I...it doesn't matter how long I knew! Mom wouldn't have let you out anyway, why are you trying to blame this on me?" Cecil frowned. Kevin opened his mouth to argue, then relented and hobbled over to his own bed, already spent.

"You don't have to blame this on me either. I didn't know what to do. I've not been in the world like you." Kevin muttered.

Cecil took that as a jab and sat down as hard as possible on his own bed. Both the bed and the floor were starting to wish the boys would make up their minds and just stay in one place. _Teenagers_. "Do you want to know why I didn't tell you that twins were normal? It wasn't just because mom wouldn't care but it's because by the time I knew, I was too busy having a life of my own. I hate that I had to be your teacher. I hate that you were so dependant on me and Abby all of the time. I hate seeing how sick you are, and how unhappy you are and how much you complain. I liked being able to get away from you, okay? I liked being able to have my own life without having to worry about my sick little brother. Sometimes I don't blame Abby for going off to college and living away at all because I know exactly how she must have felt."

Kevin had turned away by now, laying down and facing the wall, but Cecil continued his tirade because he had a lot he'd always wanted to get out and stopping now seemed ridiculous. So he went ahead and made the deepest possible cut.

"And you know what else, Kevin? Sometimes you know, sometimes I wish you'd stop being sick and just **die**!"

That stung enough to bring tears to Kevin's eyes in an instant. Cecil couldn't see those tears, but the aura he detected from his brother became suddenly cold. Regret was instant. He should have stopped after all.

"Not that I want you dead." Cecil tried to pull back those awful words. Words he didn't truly mean, as they were based on fleeting feelings, intrusive thoughts born on selfishness. "Kevin?"

Kevin heard the squeak of springs that signified that Cecil was getting up. "Don't bother coming over."

Cecil sat back down. He swallowed, feeling his own tears come. "Kevin, I'm sorry. I love you."

No answer aside from a sniffle. No 'I love you' back. Cecil understood and laid down, pressing his hands against his main eyes and letting the other close itself.

* * *

Freya punched in the private number she'd been told to call and leaned back against her chair, waiting for the person on the other end to answer. She hadn't felt right about what they'd done, but had to believe it really was for their own good. She flipped through the files in front of her as she waited, becoming a little annoyed. He'd asked to be called and now was suddenly busy? That was just like these big-shot-out-of-town-rich types.

This was a good place before that company took over, Freya remembered. They'd only took in as many as they could fit and had service that allowed mentally ill people of all kinds to access their help without having to stay. It had been a good place then but apparently not 'efficient' enough. One thing was for sure, they hadn't kidnapped people by then. No force without necessity. Especially not with minors.

"Come on you piece of shit." Freya growled. She hung up and dialled again. It wasn't like it was that unusual in Night Vale to have extra body parts, either. Or psychic powers for that matter. What was so unusual about the twins then? Maybe she was just feeling this way because she hadn't taken her meds today. Her eyes cast over to them. They were made by that company too, StrexCorp. She couldn't remember when she'd started taking them or why. Freya only knew that when she stopped taking them, after a while, everything around her started to make her mad or upset. Then she would start to feel physically sick. She quickly reached over, popped the cap and downed two pills dry.

The ringing in her ears stopped as the phone was picked up. "Hello, Doctor Mendoza?"

"Who else? This is my private number."

That voice always gave her shivers. Maybe it was the stoic tone. Maybe it was that all of his words seemed to come equipped with teeth and claws. "Right. We finished our reconnaissance on the uh, subjects...nothing your people didn't find out beforehand. There is one thing though that might make this a little complicated-"

"Do you have them both in custody?" Doctor Mendoza asked.

"Well, yes. That went off without a hitch, sir." Freya thought to ask why and how they'd even become interested in Cecil and later Kevin, upon the discovery he even existed, but thought better of it. She also decided to pass up on asking why he'd used the word 'custody' rather than 'care' or something a bit nicer and more accurate.

"Then what could possibly be wrong?"

"We couldn't get the mother to consent to us holding her son and as such if we don't obtain it within a week, the sheriff's secret police will come after us full force. Aside from that, the second brother, Kevin, doesn't _legally_ exist. We couldn't find any legal documents, not even a birth certificate. He's also extremely malnourished...well, they both are, but him especially and-" Freya was starting to feel the pills kick in and things started to matter less. The only thing that seemed to matter was getting this report finished so she could do something else and get that finished and do something else and get that finished and-

The doctors voice cut into her recycling thoughts. "That sounds like the opposite of a problem. I'll be over in three days to collect him and transport him to the facility here. As for the other twin...let him out once his brother is gone. He's not useful to me with strings attached. One of them is good enough."

"Can I ask what it is you need from them?" Freya asked.

"It's to my understanding that they possess supernatural abilities of some degree. It's in my opinion that such things are unnatural and further more, dangerous. I seek to understand what they can do and why and to fix them for the good of themselves and for the good of all. Besides, who knows? Maybe such a talented freak may have other uses to me. I could always use someone whose voice can become hypnotic." There was a laugh (was that a laugh?) and then silence which Freya filled with her own forced laughter.

"Yes, very good sir." He had no idea did he? He was just like a kid that wanted to play with the strange thing they'd found laying in the sand wastes. Play with it until it died. Ah well, it wasn't her job to know or care. She was surfing on waves of happy indifference. "I'll make sure he's ready."

"See to it that you do. Oh and, go ahead and start giving him half a pill in his food. It'll get him used to the effects." The call was ended.

Freya placed the phone down and closed the files she'd had open. She wrote a memo to the orderlies detailing what was to happen. Pills for Kevin and for Cecil? To be contained as much as possible. To be calmed but ultimately kept in the dark about what was going to happen.


	5. Interlude - Abby's return, Subject Files

**_PRIVATE INFORMATION. AUTHORISED PERSONNEL ONLY._**

 ** _ARE YOU AUTHORISED PERSONNEL? ARE YOU? SWEAR TO ME. WELL THEN, IF YOU'RE LYING, I HOPE YOU FEEL REALLY REALLY GUILTY READING ON._**

 _Subject File #353911_

 _Surname: Palmer Forename: Cecil Other names: Gershwin_

 _Sex: Male_

 _Birthday: ?/?/1?_

 _Mother: [DATA REDACTED]_

 _Father: [DATA REDACTED]_

 _Other family: Sister - Palmer, Abby. Brother- Palmer, Kevin._

 _Place of Birth: Night Vale, [DATA REDACTED], USA  
Place of residence: Night Vale, [DATA REDACTED], USA_

 _Description_ _: Palmer, Cecil Gershwin stands at a height of [DATA REDACTED] and was born with albinism. Reports show unusual paranormal abilities, see Addendum #353911-1 for details. Agent I brought Palmer to our attention after incident EAD-Alpha in which Palmer was shown to be the cause. Since then he has been monitored by facility staff who have also gathered information from the Secret Police officer that was assigned to Palmer. In the span of the two year observation, Palmer has been the cause of EAD-Beta and other, smaller incidents in addition to EAD-Alpha. Staff have also interviewed friends and teachers of Palmer to confirm his abilities, see Addendum #353911-2 for interview logs._

 _Though usually completely harmless, it is important for all involved to be aware of the significant danger to life that Palmer holds. Class B tranquillisers are to be used if verbal persuasion is not effective when arranging for his bringing to the facility (Night Vale location)._

 _Below is a comprehensive list of Palmer, Cecil's usual schedule._

 _6:00 am (approx) - Movement begins within the Palmer house, detectable only by noises from within. Voices, or shuffles of movement._  
 _6:30 am (approx) - Palmer, C emerges from the house. Shots of Palmer, K can sometimes be seen from within the door frame. Palmer, C will close and lock the door, then attempt to ambush the mailman, usually to great success. Any mail delivered is kept by Palmer, C, in his school bag._  
 _7:30 am (approx) - Palmer, C and Harlan, E meet up outside of Night Vale Elementary and exchange conversation. Palmer, C's walk to school rarely differs. He exits his street left, following Morechome Avenue for 5 blocks, before turning up Main Street. At the end of Main Street, he travels down School Lane for three more blocks. Palmer, C is not a fast walker._  
 _7:45 am - School starts and Palmer, C begins lessons. See School Timetable Log-1 for further information._  
 _3:30 pm - School ends and Palmer, C and Harlan, E bid goodbye and go their separate ways._  
 _4:00 pm (Tuesdays and Sundays ONLY) - Palmer, C attends Hebrew/Torah school at the local synagogue. 5:30 -6:00 pm (approx) Palmer, C will leave for his intern job._  
 _Information below may be incorrect due to shifting patterns of intern work._

 _6:00- 9:00 pm (weekdays), 10:00am to 4:00pm (Sat/Sunday) are the most common working times, though Palmer, C has been known to deviate greatly from this and at times seems to work perhaps a hour at most before returning home for the rest of the night._

 _NOTE: Any staff following Palmer should take proper safety precautions when he emerges from the radio station to go on 'investigations' as part of his work. Three (3) staff members have already been lost to places or creatures that Palmer has investigated._

 _Authorised personnel may read the detailed accounts given by Secret Police and facility staff members overleaf for further details and observations._

 _ADDENDUM #353911-1_  
 _Palmer, C has been shown to predict future events, be susceptible to psychic interference from other entities (See, The Deerface Incident), see things that are happening in the present but of which he should have no knowledge either because a) Palmer is a physically great distance from the place of the event or b) event is secret, coded, private or the thoughts of another person that are occurring without that persons head and not being spoken allowed._  
 _During incident's EAD-Alpha and EAD-Beta it was determined that Palmer can also manifest indestructible tentacle-like appendages originating from his back and shoulders. During this time, markings only occasionally seen otherwise move upwards towards the face and neck and across the arms and give out "cold light" bioluminescence_ _._

* * *

 _Subject File #11322914_

 _Surname: Palmer Forename: Kevin Other names: Unknown_

 _Sex: Male_

 _Birthday: ?/?/1?_

 _Mother: [DATA REDACTED]_

 _Father: [DATA REDACTED]_

 _Other family: Sister - Palmer, Abby. Brother- Palmer, Cecil._

 _Place of Birth: Night Vale, [DATA REDACTED], USA  
Place of residence: Night Vale, [DATA REDACTED], USA_

 _Description:_

 _Palmer, K is identical to Palmer, C but little else is known about him. He does not leave the house, for reasons unknown, and has only been seen/photographed from brief glimpses when Palmer, C opens the door to leave for school or work. No legal documents pertaining to this twin could be found._

* * *

It had been a long and hard process of decision making. In the end, Abby decided she couldn't possibly avoid her family forever. It was a day trip, she decided. She didn't have to stay even a single night. She was sure that Cecil and Kevin would beg her to. Their mother too, though not with words, but instead forlorn glances. Abby knocked on the door. No answer. That wasn't unusual. Abby tried her special knock that would tell Cecil that it was her. Three loud knocks, followed by two quiet, and soft scratching for five seconds.

Still no answer. Abby sighed and resorted to banging on the door repeatedly and asking to be let in. A neighbour opened their door and looked out. "He's gone you know." He clucked his tongue at the noise Abby was making. Abby stopped her relentless onslaught on the door.

"What do you mean, Mr Trout?" Abby asked, worried and also annoyed that nobody was answering yet.

"Your kid, Cecil. They took him a few days ago, those people in the white van with a triangle logo on the side. Didn't look like a local licence plate either." The elderly neighbour scratched his head. "Funny thing though, I could swear I saw Cecil come out twice...must be my old age."

"Ok, thanks!" Abby offered him a smile and a raise of her hand and headed around the back of the house. When she reached the back door, Abby took the key from her bag and let herself in. She'd given in the front door key when she left, but their mother insisted she kept the back door one at least. Just in case. Abby supposed that this was the 'just in case'.

"Mom? Cecil? Kevin?" It wasn't that she didn't believe their neighbour when he said that Cecil had gone, it was that she didn't want to believe him. Good ol' Mr Trout was the nosiest Deep One on the block though. Also, the grumpiest, but did he really expect to fare well in a desert? Some Deep One's, man. Abby thought to herself. But because he was nosy, it was unlikely he had made a mistake in what he had seen. He also would have seen them return. Cecil and Kevin, both gone for a few days now. That meant someone had known about Kevin, or learnt about him. Abby didn't entertain the idea that they'd been taken to be killed for being twins as she explored the house, still calling out. She had learnt that twins were normal during her own childhood. Like Cecil, however, she had known that arguing about it with their mother was fruitless. She had and still did feel sorry for Kevin. Then why did they get taken, to where, and what was happening to them now?

"Mom, hey, mom." Abby had found her mother sat on her bed, staring out at the boarded up window. "It's me, Abby." She sat down beside her mother, who looked at her today and Abby was thankful for that. "I just talked to Mr Trout. He said that somebody came and took Kevin and Cecil?"

Abby almost jumped as their mother suddenly started to cry and pushed herself into her eldest daughters strong muscular arms to try and stop them. It didn't work. "Mom, oh my gosh I don't blame you, it's ok, we can find them..." She pet her mothers hair and held her tightly. Just let them be ok and let them be together, Abby thought. Please, just let it be so.


	6. Waiting

Food was brought to the twins an hour or so after their brief but scathing exchange of words. The orderlies brought it in, just as silent and uncanny as they'd been before. They set down two metal trays of food pm tiny tables that sat either side of the door, one for each patient, and left without words, just a deep smile that stretched too far, revealing teeth that were painfully white and straight.

Cecil stayed on his bed. They'd been sat apart and staring into nothingness for the past hour. He'd heard Kevin eventually move to open his book again and had stayed looking at the crack that roamed over the ceiling above him. He'd entertained himself with imaging that crack widening and showering him with plaster and dust. What was above him? Would it be heavy enough to crush him in his sleep? What if what came through was something long, and black, something hungry and hairy and searching...it had been less entertaining to think like that and yet he hadn't been able to stop scaring himself.

Both boys looked at the food across the room with longing. It was strange. They were so upset with one another that they'd both decided to try and pretend that they didn't exist. Was it shame? Stubbornness? Kevin couldn't even look at his brother. He didn't even want to see Cecil in his peripherals. However, he did need to eat and had less energy to waste on being stubborn. He made himself move and went to inspect the tray closest to him. A bowl of soup, possibly chicken, and a glass of apple juice. A nice chunk of bread had also been provided, but without butter. Kevin's stomach clenched and he took a bite of the bread to chew on as he took the tray back to his bed. He sat with his legs over the side of the bed and peeked upwards to watch Cecil quickly go to retrieve his own.

Cecil sat and his one working eye met with Kevin's two and that gave both permission to try and get things back to normal again. Kevin smiled softly, starting to eat so that awkward small talk could happen some other time. Cecil sniffed and took a drink, throat dry yet sticky. "I really didn't mean what I said. I was just frustrated by all of...this, whatever we've gotten ourselves into."

Kevin nodded, mouth full of soup soaked bread. Cecil took this as a sign to continue.

"We'll get out of here. I'm sure we will. Just don't tell anyone, anything and don't listen to what they tell you to do especially if it's something weird. Like, trying to stick you with needles and stuff. We have to fight them so they don't kill us, or make us sick, or turn us into experiments." Cecil grunted in agreement to himself and took a sip of soup. Bland, but it was thick enough to be filling. Kevin thought his tasted kind of funny, but needed the food too much to be picky. "Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah." His first word in the last hour seemed hard to get out, as if his subconscious was still in a fight with Cecil. "I don't think they'll hurt us, Ceec. But I won't let them if they try."

It was a promise that would prove harder to keep than it seemed, because not everyone who is trying to hurt you does so using physical pain.

* * *

"Do you think they've forgotten about us?" Kevin asked. It had been a few days now, something they could only tell by the changing light outside of the window. The orderlies came with meals, two times a day, but aside from that nobody else had come to see them. They had had discussions about the orderlies and decided they were most certainly non organic in nature and therefore probably just following programming when it came to feeding them. They always locked the door again when they left.

Cecil watched them each day and on day three made a run for the door. Both orderlies, as if they were a hive mind, turned and grabbed one of his arms each, holding him up with inhuman strength. Cecil had thrashed against this hold without even registering the surprise of how quickly and precisely they had captured him. The orderlies had taken him back to his bed. Kevin could have left in that moment if he'd tried, a part of him realised that later, but at the moment he'd shouted out in concern for them to let go of Cecil. The orderlies did not set Cecil down very gently and hurried back to the door to leave before another escape could be planned.

They were on the ground floor, and Cecil pointed towards the window. "I know we could tear those off and get out of here."

Kevin wrung his hands together nervously and nodded along. Cecil however, got to work. He stood in front of the window and closed most of his eyes as though meditating. Kevin felt a small burst of energy in his breast and watched as his brothers birth marks moved across his arms, over his back (though this part could not be seen) and up across his neck and cheeks. They and the third eye glowed softly and Cecil's pale skin became covered in beads of sweat from the effort. The tentacle shaped marks rose from Cecil's back, wrapping around each other until they formed thicker appendages. Cecil's body had become stiff as if struct with rigor mortis, his head had dropped down so his chin rested on his chest, but the third eye had swivelled up to concentrate on the bars. The tentacles wrapped around them and started to pull. The brick on either end of the bars started to crack and crumble, the bars bending towards Cecil's body.

Cecil reached out a hand to Kevin, the hand fluttering and uncertain. Kevin understood, when this happened, your body became so light it was hard to move it or even remember that those parts of you even existed. Kevin tried his best to follow Cecil's example. He felt his body fill with the burning heat of his own energy but could barely summon anything at all before his energy quit out on him, as did his legs.

Cecil stopped and bent down beside him. "Are you ok?" Cecil himself was panting and exhausted. "Hold on." They'd noticed a single toilet in one corner and Cecil hurried to it now, throwing up and then wiping his mouth on a single sheet of toilet paper before returning to where Kevin had pulled himself back onto a bed. Cecil had reached his limit and Kevin hadn't been able to summon his own abilities. It just took too much out of them.

"Are you mad at me?" Kevin asked, both of them looking at the slightly bent bars.

"No. I know it's harder for you than it is for me. I kept meaning to train myself to do it better, but I never had time." Cecil laid his head of thick curls against his brothers chest. Kevin's heart always seemed to be beating so fast, too fast.

"I'll get better one day. At least I get to eat here." Kevin replied. That aroused a peculiar thought in Cecil's mind. It was true that they were getting fed here, although they were also prisoners to an extent and never got to see outside of this room (so far). Could it be possible that they really were just trying to help? That someone had alerted the secret police to their need? Cecil had often dreamed out it and yet been unable to speak up. He loved his mother. He knew it wasn't her fault that she found it hard to care for them. She often apologised and cried and hugged them. Cecil didn't want to be taken away from her when she was trying so much. He didn't want to leave the only home he'd ever known. He felt that if he did, his mother wouldn't survive. She'd be all alone with no one to bring her meals when they could and make sure she was washing herself. Cecil knew she'd never ask for or accept help from anyone that wasn't family, she was too proud. The last time someone had come over, she'd dropped rocks on them from the upper windows. They hadn't come back.

No. She wouldn't have wanted to send them away and was probably worried beyond belief right now, Cecil thought. If these people truly wanted to help, then somebody other than an orderly would have come to speak with them already. They would at least be allowed out beyond the room to exercise.

Kevin however, came to a completely different conclusion. He'd already been locked up most of his life, so this was nothing new. The new part was being fed. It was an improvement on his quality of life.

"I'm glad you're optimistic." Cecil replied, still feeling a little shaky. "But it doesn't mean they're good people. Lots of bad people start out acting good. I mean, look at pedos..."

"Ceec, I don't wanna hear about pedos!" Kevin groaned.

Cecil smiled and then chuckled. "Okay I won't, but you know what I mean?"

"Uh, I guess."

"I mean like...bullies, for example. Not every bully just starts by calling you names and hitting you. Some pretend to be your friend and persuade you to do embarrassing things for them, laughing at you behind your back." Cecil tried his best to get the concept through but could see the blank lack of comprehension written all over Kevin's face. He simply hadn't the life experiences to know what his brother was talking about.

"Are you talking from experience there?" Kevin picked up, as that particular line seemed to have hurt Cecil in some way.

"No, well, maybe, but it doesn't matter. Please just promise me you won't let then inject you with anything, or touch you when you're naked, or something." Cecil said.

"Woah, do you think they're gonna?"

"I don't know what they're going to do." Cecil walked over to the door, peering out of it's small barred window. He could see only corridor outside. There was another door like this one slightly to his left on the opposite wall, and some huge red light almost directly in front of it. That had been keeping him up at night. If he listened, he could hear what sounded like activity coming from far away. Cecil wasn't sure whether he was imagining that though. "That's the scary part. They could do anything to us. They could even just keep us here forever, as a prison."

Kevin watched the back of Cecil's head as he stared out. He wasn't sure what was worse, being left here and not knowing where anyone else was or even if there were any other humans here, or whatever the people who ran this place would do to them once they came.

"I think they're doing this on purpose. Trying to drive us nuts or something." Cecil growled, resisting the urge to shout out again. He looked towards the other door he could see and gasped, jumping when he saw another face staring out of the window. Cecil swallowed and close his open mouth. The other person did not look away, dark, dark eyes staring right into Cecil. The boy moved away, suddenly sick again, he returned to his brother for a hug. "There's some weird people in this place."

"Some people would consider us the weird people." Kevin replied. "I mean, probably. What even is 'normal'?" It was his attempt at being chatty. If they were being kept here with the purpose of weakening their mental state, then all he could think to do was remain positive and act like almost nothing had changed. That would surely stick a spanner in the works. It made him feel brave and proud to have such ideas. He wanted to be as rebellious and cool as Cecil always seemed to be. He wanted to 'Stick it to the Man' and such other acts of defiance led with childish bravado.

"I dunno, but not you." Cecil grinned. "You're _superweird_."

"Your _butts_ weird." Kevin replied, which set them both giggling. The joyous sounds that floated out from the room seemed out of place entirely. Yet, other people confined to their rooms couldn't help but perk up and listen.


End file.
